1. The committee wants to better understand the risks that decision makers that issue radiation protection actions need to balance during an emergency. That is the risk from radiation balanced with the risk from evacuation and other protective actions. For this reason, the committee would like to ask EPA to provide numerical values of risks and uncertainty bounds, if available, (based on cancer incidence and/or mortality) associated with the PAGs (10-50 mSv for evacuation/sheltering) but also at exposures 10 X and 100 X higher than the PAGs.

2. EPA’S thoughts on thyroid cancer risks to children at the FDA 50 mSv threshold for consideration of KI.

3. EPA in its action guide is suggesting stakeholder consultation before an accident regarding the recovery stage. What steps have been taken to initiate such meetings and what plans exist for the future?

4. EPA is also suggesting that stakeholder consultation should be a part of recovery planning. Can you advise us on the strengths and weaknesses of such consultation based on EPA experience with superfund proceedings?

5. Does EPA have a list of lessons learned from the Fukushima events?

6. The EPA manual suggests that consideration should be given to separate actions for special populations, such as those in elderly care facilities. For instance, evacuation might be considered at higher doses than for the general population. This raises the question of the caretakers. Is there any guidance available for considering the risks to caretakers in a nuclear emergency, should evacuation not be recommended for a special population?